Ms. Jacqueline Barnett
My good friend and mentor, Ms. Jacqueline Barnett was recently named the Secretary of Education for the City of Philadelphia. She is a dynamic young lady and I know she will go far.Street taps education secretary
The mayor served notice that he wants Jacqueline Barnett to work for the return of city schools from state control.
By Michael Currie SchafferInquirer Staff Writer
A top aide to U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D., Phila.) will be Mayor Street's next education secretary.
And when she takes office, Jacqueline Barnett will have an extra job beyond steering education policy for City Hall: wresting back control over Philadelphia schools, taken over by the state in 2001.
"I don't think anybody intended for it to be forever," Street said, arguing that it was time to "start creating the groundwork to be able to modify that arrangement so that the mayor and our appointees pursuant to the Home Rule Charter start taking back control over education in the city of Philadelphia."
Asked about his comments later, Street did not set a timetable for a hand-over, which would require substantial negotiations. He said it did not necessarily have to happen before he left office at the end of 2007.
"The experiment has been successful," he said of the the arrangement under which a governance board made up of state and city appointees has run Philadelphia schools. "It's now time to initiate those discussions" to return control to the school district.
Philadelphia School Reform Commission Chairman James Nevels - appointed by Gov. Mark Schweiker, Gov. Rendell's Republican predecessor - declined to say whether it was time for the district to be returned to local control. That's an issue for the governor, the mayor, and the General Assembly to decide, he said.
But he said that despite much progress, the conditions that landed the district under state control remain: financial and academic distress.
"There is much work to be done. I think we have made some good, earnest progress. There's more to be made," he said.
Paul Vallas, district chief executive, said he did not comment on governance issues.
Barnett, 38, serves as senior education policy adviser to Fattah, whose district includes much of West and Northwest Philadelphia.
She inherits a job whose duties entail attending cabinet meetings, conferring with Street's appointees to the School Reform Commission, and serving as liaison between the city and the school district.
The previous education secretary, Debra Kahn, stepped down last month. Kahn was paid $140,000 per year. Calls to the mayor's office seeking to confirm Barnett's salary last night were not returned.
Barnett is married to former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Fred Barnett. They live in the Pennsylvania suburbs, but Barnett said they would move into town within six months, as required of city employees.
And when she takes office, Jacqueline Barnett will have an extra job beyond steering education policy for City Hall: wresting back control over Philadelphia schools, taken over by the state in 2001.
"I don't think anybody intended for it to be forever," Street said, arguing that it was time to "start creating the groundwork to be able to modify that arrangement so that the mayor and our appointees pursuant to the Home Rule Charter start taking back control over education in the city of Philadelphia."
Asked about his comments later, Street did not set a timetable for a hand-over, which would require substantial negotiations. He said it did not necessarily have to happen before he left office at the end of 2007.
"The experiment has been successful," he said of the the arrangement under which a governance board made up of state and city appointees has run Philadelphia schools. "It's now time to initiate those discussions" to return control to the school district.
Philadelphia School Reform Commission Chairman James Nevels - appointed by Gov. Mark Schweiker, Gov. Rendell's Republican predecessor - declined to say whether it was time for the district to be returned to local control. That's an issue for the governor, the mayor, and the General Assembly to decide, he said.
But he said that despite much progress, the conditions that landed the district under state control remain: financial and academic distress.
"There is much work to be done. I think we have made some good, earnest progress. There's more to be made," he said.
Paul Vallas, district chief executive, said he did not comment on governance issues.
Barnett, 38, serves as senior education policy adviser to Fattah, whose district includes much of West and Northwest Philadelphia.
She inherits a job whose duties entail attending cabinet meetings, conferring with Street's appointees to the School Reform Commission, and serving as liaison between the city and the school district.
The previous education secretary, Debra Kahn, stepped down last month. Kahn was paid $140,000 per year. Calls to the mayor's office seeking to confirm Barnett's salary last night were not returned.
Barnett is married to former Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Fred Barnett. They live in the Pennsylvania suburbs, but Barnett said they would move into town within six months, as required of city employees.
Contact staff writer Michael Currie Schaffer at 215-854-4565 or mcschaffer@phillynews.com. Inquirer staff writer Susan Snyder contributed to this article.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/12352859.htm
posted by Kris Anderson @ 9:14 AM
1 Comments:
Jackie is extremely bright and will do very well in this position
- her first cousin fron NJ
Post a Comment
<< Home